Excuse my momentary pessimism but does anyone else have a sinking feeling?

[BigBearJohn]

A feeling that no matter what we do,
the money grubbing power elite --
the rich fat cats -- are going to
bulldoze over any effort to rebuild
the middle class? I get this sinking
feeling sometimes that the fat cats
are laughing in their drinks over
efforts to change this country. There
will only be the very rich and the very
poor in this country.

I was warned 30 years ago that the
ultra rich would eventually find a
way to bypass the constitution and
rule the world. Have they won --
or do we still have a chance?


What do you think?

[Lasher]

1. I hear what you're saying, but I gotta hope

My hope goes no farther right now than the midterms in November.

[BigBearJohn]

2. Yeah, I guess I'd have to agree with you. I'm waiting for the results too

But watching the actions of our current Democrats in
action, leaves me little hope. (With of course, the
exceptions of a handful of brave men).

[Whoa_Nelly]

3. And that in itself is a sad statement regarding our nation

When we can look no farther than a set time in the very near future to sustain a belief in what our nation is supposed to be, what democracy really is, then times really are sad indeed.

[Daphne08]

4. I've never been so depressed about the state of affairs,

and I'm over 50 years old. I really fear for the future of my sons in this country.

And at this particular moment, I see only a dark tunnel. Perhaps tomorrow there will be a bit of light at the end of it. I certainly hope so. (Sounds a bit melodramatic, I know, but it is from the heart.)

[IsItJustMe]

5. I think the fat cats have screwed themselves this time.

[B Calm]

6. I just want my vote counted, thats all...

[smartvoter]

7. Only because of the voting machines. If it weren't for those, this

election would be a cakewalk. The first real cakewalk in my lifetime, I think.

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. I just can't believe the blatant disregard for this country's foundation

is being ignored and that people are aparently okay with it. If I let myself think too much about it, I'd never get out of bed. It's funny, I was perusing another website and only the most insane of the conservatives are posting there anymore.

[BlueIris]

9. No.

I feel better than ever about our future right now. Or, rather, better than I have since '04.

[melody]

10. The fat cats have spent their ninth life

They went to the extreme of everything they wanted to do and now they're going to reap the harvest of their greed. The US has succeeded as long as it has based largely upon a relatively competent middle class that accepted the difficult lot we have in this country in favor of the carrot and stick promises given us and some noble ideal of a government by the people. If the carrot is revealed to be a trick, what's going to happen? Major unrest. Social upheaval. Socialism -- all the things one finds arising out of financially abusive civilizations. The people who police their cities and throw their trash will be gone. Pretty soon, the fight will come to their front door. There's just too many of us and too few of them. All the money in the world isn't going to protect them once the masses rise up and start taking over. They know that. They didn't learn from the Czar, so now they're going to have to repeat the pattern, it would seem. It's utter stupidity and a complete waste of 230 years of traditions.

The only things protecting the US from that seemed to be our traditions and our liberal philosophies. Now the Bushites have their stark libertarian wet dream that any thinking person could have warned them against, so now the arrogant bullies are going to find out why people shouldn't step on people to stand tall.

I think they're going to self-destruct. I'm just worried about their taking our government, economy and free enterprise system with it.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. When I'm sad and blue and downtrodden, I turn to my faith!

"Let the Exxon soar,

Like profits never soared before.

From oil soaked coasts straight to your Exxon store,

Let the mighty Exxon's prices soar.

Soar with flapping of her corporate wings,

As the land beneath her stinks:

'Only Crude George, no other kings.'

This country’s just about sucked dry.

We’ve still got a lot of drilling to do to you,

And we can take all your money if we try.

Built by all the oil and struggles

King G W Crude has led us to."

[NoGOP]

12. The farther his approval rating drops.......

the more my disposition improves. People are just getting sick of Iraq. Some of things he's tried to get done, such as his social security plan, haven't gone anywhere. We may not win back the House or Senate this year but I expect we will gain some seats in both. The numbers show it's obvious that the Republicans in charge of Congress and in the White House have been a failure.

[sarahf]

13. not so much

I'm actually beginning to feel better about where we are headed as a country. I think people are more interested in getting things done.

[H2O Man]

14. Not at all.

I'm feeling pretty upbeat myself. Abbie Hoffman used to quote John Wayne when people were feeling discouraged. He would tell how the Duke said, "Little guy'll beat the big guy every time, so long as that little guy's right and keeps a'coming." Now, obviously you don't get the full impact of Abbie doing his John Wayne imitation, so we'll compensate by keeping in mind that our generation's "Duke" was just sentenced to an extended incarceration for being a common criminal, a congressional prostitute.

[The2ndWheel]

15. I love your pessimism

I share it. I think we need more of it. That is the only way anything might change(even though the power elite will always win, they just change shape, they never die).

Going to bulldoze? They have, are, and will continue to do so. What else is globalization? It's not going to stop(until it collapses on its own, as everything does), so it doesn't make a bit of difference what we do.

It's just like the NSA affair. It's bound to happen. Information has gotten more complex as time has gone on, and as civilization has "progressed", we keep track of people(one way or another). In the "Information Age", I can't see how we all wouldn't be watched. There has to be order in civilization. We keep making more people, and more and more energy must be used to keep that order.

There were a few years where there was a middle class, but that was a pipe dream. Most of human history hasn't had a middle class. It was nice while it lasted, but power has access to 6.5 billion people now.

Give me a decade where we haven't killed people in other parts of the world for our "national security", or some dreamy world in which we fight for "freedom and democracy", or some other complete crap.

I love your pessimism. When we figure out that we can't change the system from within the system, maybe things can change. Although power will just change its shape, and we'll fight the same battles again and again. Until the sun dies out, or our species destroys the planet, whichever comes first.

[Atman]

16. No so fast!

I posted this before I saw your entry...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x684044

[Just Me]

17. I just don't know.

The tide IS shifting and people are becoming more aware of reality. I anticipate a shift in power albeit nothing dramatic, which is a positive.

On the other hand, when I consider the weight of damage violently imposed by the BushCO/neoconster regime, I wonder whether we will be able to adequately heal/repair all that and reverse the accumulation of blowback. I am very pessimistic about that,...about blowback. The injustices are so mind-boggling I wonder how/if humanity will absorb them in order to move on or whether a cycle of vigilantism will form.

I worry but I am, by nature, a worrier. :-(

[Atman]

18. Oops...I spoke too soon. My OPTIMISTIC thread is sinking like a stone

Maybe we are pretty much feeling cooked.

:(

[Lasher]

23. Mine too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2517074&mesg_id=2517074

It's inspirational how bravely people here bear up under the burden of good news.

[RagAss]

19. Never underestimate the power of a pissed off middle class....

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. We're winning. If you count the left around the world.

There's a revolution against the American Empire going on all over the world. The people have become weary of paying our bills and are taking back what's theirs. Just look south to Chile, Bolovia, Peru, El Salvador, Haiti, and, soon, Mexico.

[Cocoa]

21. think progress, not perfection

[converted_democrat]

22. I have sinking feeling..

I don't even know why I'm posting this.. Many will think I'm a nut for sure, but I don't really care.. I have for whatever reason had some of the worse nightmares of my life over the last couple of months.. I've never in my life had dreams like this.. It's starting to effect my overall sleep pattern because I dread waking up in a pool of sweat scared out of my mind.. The dreams always end up with me being arrested by men with machine guns.. (Just for the record, I've never been arrested for anything in my entire life.) It always starts out like a routine traffic stop, and I end up being arrested, but no one will tell me why.. It scares the crap out of me..

[Lasher]

24. My friend, you need a break

If you are not able to go on vacation to a secluded spot for a week, then I wish you would shut off your TV and internet access for a while. Or just watch some of those mindless sitcoms - or old movies. My favorite of all time is Midway. Peter Sellers' Pink Panther movies will make you laugh. It's great medicine.

I freaked out when the 2004 election returns were coming in. I was so elated to see the early indications that we had won, only to suffer extreme disappointment when the Diebold factor kicked in to gurantee 4 more years of hell for all Americans who are not either rich or stupid - or both. I had to back away for a while.

Then come back when you're ready and help us win the midterms. That victory will be the perfect therapy that everyone here at DU seems to badly need.

Lasher

[Marie26]

28. yeah, well, me too.

Maybe it's just a result of too much DU time. Sometimes it's good to detach, turn off the news, and just enjoy the life you have. It's a beautiful spring day - why not go out with your friends, or call up a family member you've lost touch with, or just sit outside & watch the sunset? The world will keep spinning w/o us keeping track of all the news. After a few days of "real life only", you'll feel much better, really.

[Minnesota Libra]

25. I can't give up - what will history say about this generation if we.......

....just give up and do nothing? :hide:

[Ufomammut]

26. The elusive "chance" you speak of...

Resides in the people's capacity to correctly and realistically weigh the concerns and potential consequences. This involves the inherent desire for change, of organizing, of informing yourself and others, and of understanding that it may eventually require more than sitting back and allowing elections to be stolen.

The sheer size of the propaganda in America reveals that the Establishment has a great deal to fear over the likelihood of our solidarity.

[Marie26]

27. I've had a sinking feeling for five years. nt